Side position regulating apparatus



March 1957 J. M. MONTEFALCO ETAL 2,785,675

SIDE POSITION REGULATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 3, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l 73 [O O O 86 Z? 87 O O O 69 March 1957 J. M. MONTEFALCO ET AL 2,786,675

SIDE POSITION REGULATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 5, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS March 1957 J. M. MONTEFALCO EIAL 2,786,675

SIDE POSITION REGULATING APPARATUS 5 Sheis-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 5, 1953 J. M. MONTEFALCO ET AL 2,786,675

IDE POSITION REGULATING APPARATUS March 26, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 3 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Illv 1 All J. M. MONTEFALCO EI'AL SIDE POSITION REGULATING APPARATUS IIIIIII March 26, 1957 Filed Sept. 3, 1953 INVEN fORS Qco Q3 #1 ATTORNEY mm Patent assignors, by mesne assignments, to The H. F. Goodrich Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of New York Application September 3, 1953, Serial No. 378,252 11 Claims. emit-4.6

This invention relates to apparatus for maintaining an advancing web of sheet material in a designed path of travel. The web may comprise a traveling sheet of work material or a traveling belt conveying work material.

An object of the invention is to provide apparatus for this purpose that is capable of use for defeating an unlimited extent of accumulation of edgewise drift of the web in either lateral direction away from its designed path of travel. H v, V

Heretofore the abilityof so called side position regulating apparatus to'control traveling Webs has been limited definitely in respect to the aggregate amount of edgewise drift of the web in one direction, or the excess of drift in either single direction, for which the apparatus can compensate. Such limitation has been due to a re: stricted extent of movement of the web position shifting means transversely of the path of travel of the web which heretofore has characterized such apparatus, Traveling webs which have a preponderanttendency to drift continuonsly or intermittently edgewise inthe same lateral direction, or in either o'f opposite lateral directions if the drift alternates from Qnedirection to the other, can perform an aggregate amount of drift .in excess of the corrective ability of the side position regulating controls as heretofore known. p p i I Afurther object of this invention isto provide apparatus capable of automafig ll corilpensatingfor and correcting an unlimited continnity of increments of edgewi se web drift or an unlimited repetition of such increments in a constant lateral direction.

A specific object is to steer a continuous web of sponge,

rubber or likesoft elasticmaterialor a thin and flimsy endless conveyor belt of considerable width straight through a machine or process without stretching, wrinkling or otherwise distorting the material of the weborbelt. I, M

A related object is to steer a continuous web of soft elastic material so that it will cause the edges of the web to register in flush alignment as convolutions of a roll of the web as it is wound progressively onto a takeup spindleeven if provided with no guide flanges.

Other objects of the improvements will appear in: the

following description of a machine embodyingoneof many possible forms o'f th e present improvements, such description having refe'rence to the accompanying drawings, wherein; I

Fig. 1 is a perspective fragmentary viewuof. web handling apparatusembodying the.present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram of an electrical system that may be incorporated with the apparatus of Fig. l.

Fig. 3. is acontractedplan,view of an endlessarticu; lated train of side position web regulating rollersjforrn ing part of .the apparatus of Fig; l and embodying the present improvements 1.75, 4 is a contracted ele ation of the" endless roller train of Fig. 3 looking lengthwise of the traveling web.

Fig. 5 is -an endwise view of the roller train looking from theright at Fig. 1. j -'Fig. 6 is a view taken insection on the plane 66-6 in Fig.- 4 looking in'thedirection of the arrows. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 4 showing a modified construction of track for guiding and supporting the roller train.- a V Fig. 8 is a view taken in section-on the planes 8--8 in Fig. 7 looking in the-direction of the, arrows.

The articulated train of cylindrical rollers 14incor-. porates an endless link chaini29 that is trained over and impelled by sprocket wheels 30 and 31. Each of certain links 32 of the chain bears fixedly in unison with it a carrier bar 34. On each carrier bar there isjsecured by bolts 35 a forked jcarrier bracket 33 affording support for the axle shaft.38 .of roller 14 about which shaft the roller is freely rotatable on radial ball bearings 39. lodg"ed respectively in the end walls of the roller. Certain other links.40 carry pilot lugs 41.that enter and slide along and depart from a straight horizontal groove between an upper pair of track bars 42, 43 and a similar straight horizontal groove between a lower pair of track bars 44, 45. All of the track bars are fixed on the framework 48 of the apparatus by removable bolts 49. Thus chain 29 not only tows the rollersbut serves as their sole support. The 'traction rollers 50 of chain'29' engage impellably with the teeth of sprocket wheels 30, 31 sothat the upper and lowerstretches of thechainwhich extendbetweenthe sprocket wheels are disposed to be supported by the pilot lugs 41. as they slide and are guided along the grooves between thetrack bar s. Thus there is always, maintained in the upper stretch of the chain in straight coaxial alignmflitfl Changeable series of t-he rolle'r's- 14 adapted to function as would a single long, rigid roller. But the rollers 14 are capable -of being movedendwise in unison through unlimited extents of shifting, displace;v

ment ineither directionaround their circuitous course.

crosswise the designed path of travel of a belt -or. web. 74. The train ofqrollers 14 isimpelledby turningthe sprocket wheels 30, 3 1 quiteslowly either in manually selected orautomatically determined rotary directions...,.. Sprocket wheel 30 is idle-and turns on a shaft 52 tha,t

is journaled in frame bearings 53 that are heldon themachine frame ,,4 8 by bolts 56 in aposition thatis adf justable lengthwise of the-machine for, loosening .or tightening the chain29 by means of the thrust screw- 54 having threaded engagement with the frame and locked by;.a nut 55. a shaft 58 journaled in three frame bearings 59 secured on the machine frameby bolts 60. a

Between two of the frame bearings 59 there is fixed on shaft 58 a worm gear 62 that is in mesh with aworm 63 fixed on the power shaft 64 whose opposite ends are.

journaled in frame bearings ,65 and 66. respectively. In outboard relation to the frame, shaft 64 is equippedwith.

a driven pulley 68 that is .belted -t0- the driving pulley 69 by a transmission belt 70. Driving pulley 69- is on shaft 172 of a reversing motor 73 that may be stationed on the same floor or platforr'nas the machine frame 48. Fig. '1 shows that-a wide flexible web or conveyor-belt '74,

which maybe of soft thineasily wrinkled material. and;

which may .or need not be trained underor about ,a tensioning roller 75, passesupward and over an end-to, end, changeable series of the 'straightly aligned I'QlleI'SlA,

thence onward toward thev right in- Fig. .1 ,topther web supporting rollers represented by 76, and thence possiblyto a web take-up -roller; (n ot shown) if the web constic t r a .u d ..-Pr0c in t e tme o p'c lr to-any.s a 1e sy t miq Pi linsmHcrs; i he; w b 00 1:. Y titu es:a e dlcssi ra e in c nv yor belt;- Inany event;

the web 74 will be understood as being impelled by pulling it in the direction of arrow T in Fig. 1 against suitable Ina similar manner sprocket wheel 31 is. fixedon.

snsasrs resistive force which might be merely the weight of the web but which herein is sketchily represented to include the weight of a tension roller 75. Thus at the bight of the web, where it travels up and over the side position regulating rollers 14, its broadside face exerts a clinging pressure against the rollers as it passes over them. To improve the tendency of the web to cling to the rollers the cylindrical faces of the latter are knurled or roughened. The wrap of the web with respect to the surfaces of rollers 14 may be 90 degrees or more or less.

In Fig. l the left edge 78 of the web, whose margin assumed to be opaque or bafiling to light, is shown to travel lengthwise in a path that extends between two laterally' spaced and individually concentrated beams of light ,79 and 80 that are projected downward toward two light sensitive phototubes 81, 82, respectively, from light sources 83, 84. Two photoelectric control sets comprising unitary light source 83 with phototube 31, and unitary light source 84 with phototube 82 are separately adjustable laterally of the direction of travel of the web so that a dead or neutral zone Z between the light beams 79 and 80 in Fig. 2 is variable not only as to width but as to its location with respect to the frame of the machine from which frame the housings of the light sources and phototubes are supported. So long as the edge of the web travels in the dead or neutral zone Z no corrective Web steering action of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 will take place.

Light beam 79 is outside the edge of the web and hence normally not intercepted by the margin of the web. Light beam 80 is placed to normally be intercepted by the web margin. If the edge of the web strays laterally in an outward direction beyond this neutral zone Z so as to intercept light beam 79, or strays in an inward direction beyond the neutral zone so as to clear the light beam 80, control efiects will be caused in an electrical system furnishing current to the reversing motor 73 through the medium of circuit switching mechanism contained in a casing 85 acting through a motor starting, stopping and reversing contactor contained in a casing 86 as well understood in the art- Push buttons for optional manual control of the same circuits are diagrammatically represented at 87.

In operation, if the traveling web strays outwardly beyond the lateral limits predetermined by the width and location of neutral zone Z, light beam 79 will be intercepted and the motor 73 will automatically be started to run in a direction to turn sprocket wheel 31 in such direction that the series of rollers 14 in the upper stretch of the endless train of rollers shift in unison toward the right in Fig. 1. When such shifting of the rollers has caused web 74 to be carried with them a suificient distance laterally across the path of web travel to restore the web edge to the neutral zone Z, light beam 79 will be cleared again and the motor will automatically be stopped. If the web strays inwardly instead of outwardly away from neutral zone Z, light beam 80 will become cleared and motor 73 will automatically be started to run in the opposite direction thereby to turn sprocket wheel 31 in such direction that the series of rollers 14 in the upper stretch of the train shift in unison toward the left in Fig. 1 until such shifting has restored the web edge to the neutral zone, whereupon light beam 80 again becomes intercepted and acts electrically to stop the motor.

By automatic repetition of the web steering functions described the apparatus can counteract an unlimited aggregate of unidirectional lateral drifting movement of the traveling web or conveyor belt 74 away from any predetermined path of travel because of the ability of the train of rollers to shift a limitless extent in either direction.

In Figs. 7 and 8 there is substituted for the track bars 42, 43, 44 and 45 a guiding structure defining a straight path of travel and comprising straight rows of antifrictional wheels. The row of wheels 92 takes the place of track bar 42. Wheels 93 are substituted for track bar 43, wheels as for track bar 44 and wheels 95 for track bar 45.

The pilot lugs 41 on the chain links are omitted and the widths of carrier bars 34 are extended laterally so that their lateral marginal portions ride between and are firmly constrained and guided by the track wheels 92 to 95, inclusive.

The above mentioned track wheels with or Without ball bearing mounting are supported respectively on horizontal stationary studs 96 that are fixedly mounted in side bars 97, 92?, 99 and 100, the latter being firmly secured on the machine frame 48 in vertically spaced relation by bolts 101 and suitable spacer collars surrounding the same.

in the space between side bars 9798 and 99-400 there is additional row of wheels 102 freely turnable on the bolts 14311 or about their above mentioned spacer collars and presenting their peripheries to the lateral edges of the carrier bars 34 wherefore to limit edgewise deflection of the roller train in either lateral direction as its rides along and in rolling contact with the track wheels.

An endless tow belt may be substituted for chain 29 and a hand crank may be substituted for the driven pulley 68 and many other modifications are possible, wherefore the appended claims are directed to and intended to cover not only the particular constructions herein shown but all variations and substitutes for the mechanical parts and their operating arrangementsthat fall within a broad interpretation of the language of the claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for counteracting an unlimited aggregate of increments of unidirectional lateral drifting movement of a stretchable traveling web away from a predetermined path of travel, embodying in combination, a train of rollers, an endless train of carriers rotatably supporting said rollers respectively in externally periph-- eral relation to said endless train of carriers, means to impel said carriers in either direction-around a circuitous course of shifting movement, ands straight extent of guideway forming structure extending crosswise the path of web travel operatively related to said carriers to direct the same in a path to maintain a changeable series of ad jacent rollers of said train in axially end-to-end relation for simultaneous engagement with a broadside surface of the web, whereby each of the rollers in said train can repeatedly be conveyed into and out of said web engaging series in either direction of roller shifting movement.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the said mean to impel the said carriers includes a chain of pivotally connected links, each link being sufiiciently shorter than the length of each of the said rollers so that a plurality of said links parallel and are contained within the length of a single roller, said carriers being fixed only to respective links that are separated by intervening links.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the said carriers comprise bearing brackets straddling the said rollers respectively, and the said impelling means comprises a chain of carrier towing links on individual links of which chain said carriers are respectively mounted.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, in which at least some of the said links carry pilot lugs positioned to slide along the said guideway forming structure.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, in which the said guideway forming structure comprises two parallel bars defining a passageway therebetween tracked by the said ilot lugs.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the said guideway structure comprises the peripheries of a row of freely rotatable wheels.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6, in which the said carriers bearing the said rollers in rotatable relation re 5 spectively thereto ride in rolling contact with the said wheel peripheries.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the said guideway structure comprises vertically spaced straight rows of horizontally spaced apart freely rotatable Wheels having their peripheries disposed for rolling contact with the said carriers.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, in which the said carriers are equipped with laterally projecting lugs slidable along and between the said spaced rows of wheels in rolling contact with the peripheries thereof.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the said gutdeway structure comprises vertically spaced parallel straight rows of horizontally spaced apart wheels freely rotatable about parallel axes, and an additional row of horizontally spaced apart wheels freely rotatable about axes angularly related to said parallel axes, all of said wheels having their peripheries disposed for rolling contact with the said carriers.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10, in which the said carriers respectively bearing said rollers in rotatable relation thereto ride along and between the said spaced rows of wheels in flanking relation to the said additional row of wheels wherefore to be constrained by the latter against excessive drift crosswise the said parallel rows of wheels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,297,858 Andreotto Oct. 6, 1942 2,340,242 Andreotto Jan. 25, 1944 2,365,322 Ashworth Dec. 19, 1944 2,641,416 McCleary et al. June 9, 1953 2,643,117 Frisbie et a1 June 23, 1953 

